10 Directors Who Will Ruin Upcoming Films
8. Jon Turteltaub - Meg
Jon Turteltaub has a reputation for taking outlandish source material and attempting to ground it with little success, a mistake he's destined to repeat with Meg.
No, Peter Griffin's daughter isn't getting a solo movie. This one's about a giant, prehistoric shark that makes Jaw look as harmless as a goldfish, and it's based on the popular novel series by Steve Alten.
The Meg books are pulpy deep sea horror with a dose of action and a dash of Jurassic Park, the ideal basis for a B-movie. Turteltaub, however, is adamant the story of 70-foot shark should be taken seriously, and that's why this adaptation is destined for the bottom of the ocean.
Journeyman Turteltaub's previous efforts such as National Treasure and The Sorcerer's Apprentice may be thematically different to his latest project, but these Nicolas Cage vehicles plunged into many of the same pitfalls, going sober and deadpan while the source material called for light-hearted fun.
Perhaps he could have salvaged a degree of credibility had he not cast Jason Statham in the role of a respected marine biologist.